


The Night Fellow

by Miranda_tries_their_best



Series: The Night Fellow [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Body Horror, Creepy Fluff, Mentions of Violence, Teeth, The Night Fellow is Virgil but his name is never used, Virgil is a spooky boy, i can't believe thats a tag, shooting mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23932444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miranda_tries_their_best/pseuds/Miranda_tries_their_best
Summary: The Night Fellow is a creature made of both flesh and metal that lives in the long-abandoned mansion on top of the hill outside of town. At night, the Fellow creeps out of their home to roam through the trees and walk along the overgrown path between the mansion and the town.Logan has a fascination with this (somewhat) passive creature and decides to go find it.Or, Logan hunts down the town's local cryptid and shoves his hands in their mouth and the thing kinda decides they like him.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: The Night Fellow [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725121
Comments: 32
Kudos: 125





	The Night Fellow

The Night Fellow is a creature made of both flesh and metal that lives in the long-abandoned mansion on top of the hill outside of town. At night, the Fellow creeps out of their home to roam through the trees and walk along the overgrown path between the mansion and the town.

Upon first glance on a dark trail, one might think the Fellow is a normal person, a tall stranger out for an evening walk. There aren't have managed to get close to the creature as the moment they sense someone nearby, they drop to all fours and disappears into the trees. The few that have snuck up on the fellow describe black eyes with glowing white dots for pupils, shaggy dark hair, their fingers end at their knuckles, and are replaced by long thin mechanical claws. They say the Fellow's teeth are like knives and they can open their jaw wide enough to fit someone's head inside their mouth.

Logan kinda doubts that last bit.

The night fellow is not inherently violent despite his frightening appearance, they flee at the first sight of people and the only record the town has of an actual attack beyond a few shallow scratches is from a man hunting out in the woods who shot at them, said man had been found with terrifying claw wounds and bite marks after being dumped on the edge of town by the creature.

Logan always finds that part interesting. The town as a whole made it a silent rule that as long as you leave the Night Fellow alone, they'll happily leave you alone as well but the creature could have very much left the man they injured to bleed out in the woods but instead, carried the hunter back to town and left him where he could get help.

Logan knew of the teens that were dared to go up the hill and try to enter the mansion, would overhear a group of friends talking about their adventure during the classes he taught. One had told him that the Fellow had crawled along the walls and ceiling like a spider, another said they barely made it a foot in the door before the Fellow charged at them on all fours and slammed the door as the stumbled back outside. One young girl who had been to the mansion multiple times told Logan that the Fellow is much less likely to chase you out if you knock before you enter and stay in the main foyer, she told the teacher about her friend who tried going through the halls only to have the Fellow follow directly behind them until they left.

The more Logan heard about the Night Fellow, the more curious he became. It could be dangerous, from what Logan understands, the Fellow can get a lot more aggressive towards adults who invade their home then the kids the Fellow simply scares off or let's wonder until either bored or unnerved by their presence but that just makes it all the more interesting.

Logan finds himself trudging up the hill at dusk on a weekend. The creature is aware enough to recognize age differences, the Fellow can tell when someone is a threat and is content to either scare them off or flee from them with only one case of actual harm being argued as more self-defense then anything malicious, especially since the fellow recognized that their attacker would die if left intended and took the effort to get him to safety.

So, Logan stands in front of a mansion that's standing in fairly good shape for a building that's been left to the ages for longer then he's been alive through the gate has been long since destroyed. The teacher knocks on the large door and gives it a few moments before carefully pushing the only slightly rotted wood open and steps inside to the foyer, guiding the door to only be open slightly before he turns around to face the room.

After clicking on his flashlight, he looks around the place. The room looks like it hasn't been touched in ages. Dust and grime coat every surface along with layers of cobwebs that cover everything, accented with the smell of mildew in the air. Logan makes a note that he shouldn't stay inside too long, he hadn't thought about what sort of mold may be growing in this old place and thus didn't bring any sort of filter to breathe through. He'll have to remember that for next time but for now, short term exposure wouldn't do any lasting harm and he came all the way out here for a reason and he'll be damned if he doesn't catch at least a glance of the Night Fellow.

The sun outside is quickly setting, the dirty windows barely probably would barely let light in if it was full daylight so Logan's only left with his flashlight as his only light source in the dark. He only makes it a little bit in, standing in the center of the foyer when he hears the soft ticking of a clock.

It's strange, looking around the room Logan can find an old clock on the floor but it's long broken. The teacher doesn't have to wait long to figure it out as he hears the quiet creak of metal and a ruffle of fabric directly above him.

Logan barely manages to stumble backward in time, shining his flashlight up in time to see a black blur drop from the ceiling and land on the floor where he was standing with a heavy thud. The teacher has no time to think as the creature immediately scrambles onto all fours and charges at him, he backs away quickly dropping his flashlight in panic as the thing comes right at him-

No! Logan locks in his legs in place and holds his breath, his heart pounds as he fights every instinct in his body telling him to flee. He shuts his eyes tightly, arms defensive raising to cover his head but beyond that, he forces himself to stay still and breathe through his nose.

The Night Fellow won't hurt him as long as he doesn't give them a reason to.

Sure enough, the sound of scrambling limbs stop and Logan doesn't feel any sort of pain from an attack. The ticking noise is much closer, directly in front of him but it gets drowned out by an animalistic growl so deep that Logan can feel the vibrations in his ribcage.

"I'm not here to hurt you." The teacher tries to keep his voice even but he's shaking to the core. "I'm not going to cause you any trouble." He doesn't even know if they understand him but he slowly lowers his arms and forces his eyes to open.

The Night Fellow is low to the ground, head bent back at an awkward angle to stare up at him little glowing white dots in their eyes. They're breathing too hard, chest rising and falling rapidly like they're panting but Logan can't hear them breathing. His flashlight is knocked to the side but it provides enough light for the teacher to get a good look at the Fellow.

He has to commit everything to memory, choppy hair, wide sunken eyes, their mouth slightly open, and filled with far too many teeth. It looks like they're wearing some patched up robe with loose sleeves that bunch on the floor, very poorly hiding the beings metal claws. The ticking noise is coming from the Fellow, Logan can tell that much but he's not entirely sure where or why there's ticking.

"Do you speak English?" Logan asks them to receive nothing but their unblinkingly stare. "Can you understand me?" Once again getting no reply which is disappointing as he hoped he would be able to ask the Fellow questions but they seem content just staring at him, he can't be sure if they don't understand or just don't care to answer.

Logan takes a deep breath to calm his nerves before crouching down slowly to be eye level with the Fellow, they back up a step as he moves and the teacher suppresses a shudder at the unnatural angle their legs move in. He meets the being's eyes and feels a chill down his spine but most of his fear takes second place to his fascination.

"You're an incredible being." He mutters mostly to himself but for once his talking to himself is helpful as the Fellow seems to respond. Their pupils shrink into slits as they rear back, their gaze flickering around the room like suddenly he was the scary thing. "It's okay." He tries to soothe as he reaches forward. "I mean you no harm."

The Night Fellow opens their mouth, letting out a low growl as his hand gets too close but the sound cuts off as Logan grips their jaw without thinking, completely forgetting his self-preservation in favor of getting a better look at their teeth.

"Fascinating." Logan breathes, keeping a grip on their chin with one hand while the other pushes on their cheek to tilt their head back. "I was lead to believe that your teeth are made of metal but these are all bone." The teacher strokes his thumb over one of the being's large canines but quickly retracts it as the Fellow tenses their jaw and sharp metal teeth snap down to cover the bone. "Oh, amazing! Retractable teeth, they almost resemble the teeth on a bear trap."

The light from Logan's fallen flashlight did a well enough job at lighting up the room but without it in hand, it's a bit harder to see clearly the details inside the Night Fellow's maw. There's a whirling noise in the back of their throat as Logan let's go of their jaw to reach into their mouth, feeling around the gums to make out the sheath that contained the metal teeth when retracted. The Fellow's bone teeth still stood out behind the metal and Logan carefully maneuvers his fingers past the sharpened metal to rub the duller, more human teeth at the back.

(He makes a note that the Fellow's jaw is stretched unnaturally wide and seems like it could go wider.)

"Is that a..." He mumbles to himself, squinting inside the being's mouth in hopes of making something out in the darkness. "It looks like you have a cavity filling." Logan really can't tell for sure without proper lighting but it does seem like it. Are there dental records of this creature? As far as Logan knew the first confirmed sighting of the Night Fellow was about sixty years ago and they've always been very avoidant of people, only recently getting bolder in scaring away those that wander too close.

Logan pulls back enough to insect the being in front of him. They're wide eyes watching him intensely, at some point while Logan was inspecting their teeth they shifted to rest on their knees and their hands hover near Logan with claws facing towards him like they're ready to strike but hesitating.

It's this moment that Logan remembers that he's in front of a very dangerous creature, figuratively putting his head in the lion's mouth. Sure, the Night Fellow seldom injures anyone but most people don't actively interact with them.

"Ah, I apologize." Logan carefully removes his fingers from the Fellow's mouth and winces as the being's mouth snaps shut near immediately, the metal clinking gives a harsh reminder that the thing could have very well of bitten his fingers off. "Thank you for your patience with me, I got a bit too excited there but I should have asked permission before touching you."

The Fellow's hands lower from their tense position, lowering down to rest on the ground and Logan can make out some of the intricate details of the joints where those thin metal blades connect to their middle knuckle. He nervously wipes his hands on his shirt to rid them of the being's saliva, it's a shame as the teacher would love to collect a sample of it but he hadn't expected to actually get this close to the Night Fellow and thus didn't think to bring a kit.

The Fellow doesn't seem agitated, thankfully. Their head tilted slightly in curiosity as they seem to inspect the human in front of them. Logan's still not entirely sure if they understood anything he said, let alone his apology but they don't seem to hold any ill will towards him which helps Logan not worry too much when they shift closer to him.

He manages not to flinch when the being reaches forward and wraps their "fingers" around his wrist, he doesn't even try to resist as they pull his hand closer as gently as possible. The teacher is rather amazed to find that the finger-like blades aren't actually sharp, their edges dulled down. Logan's sure that they're still dangerous if the Night Fellow put intent behind those claws but at the moment their touch is gentle as they have his hand resting palm up, it certainly helps Logan feel less nervous as they raise their other clawed hand and traces the blade of their pointer finger from the veins on his wrist to the tip of his fingers.

Logan does his best to keep his hand still for them while trying to figure out what they're doing, the glide of the pointed metal across his palm tickles slightly from how gentle the being is and each time his fingers so much as twitch, the fellow lets out a soft warbled noise and stills their motion until Logan holds his hand still long enough.

Logan doesn't realize how much time has past, the teachers legs ache from being in the same position for so long but he doesn't dare move as the Night Fellow traces the wrinkles in his hand. He commits each detail to memory, the being so focused on whatever it's doing gives Logan the perfect chance to observe it's appearance for any missed details. He wishes he could grab his sketchbook from his side bag but that would require moving and also reclaiming his dominant hand from the creature in front of him so instead he just memories to recreate later.

They are both startled when a loud trilling noise rings out from the room, the Fellow drops Logan's wrist as he jerks back in surprise and claw at their chest until the noise stops. They jerk their head up suddenly, looking up past Logan where he's now sitting and upon following their gaze Logan sees one of the dirty windows.

Any trace of light from the setting sun is long gone, the only light source is Logan's flashlight and the Beady little dots that are the Night Fellow's pupils. The teacher scrambles for his phone from his coat pocket, it lighting up and revealing multiple missed calls from his friend but Logan ignores them more the moment.

12:01 AM

Logan must have been here hours without realizing it.

The Night Fellow seems to realize the passage of time skipped over them too as they flickered their gaze between the teacher and the dark window. They almost reach towards him again but draw their hand back, seeming to debate with themself before letting out a huff of air in probably the most human gesture Logan's seen from them tonight. Their claws scrape the floor slightly as they push themself up and onto their feet, standing tall and towering over the teacher.

Logan is not a short man by any means but he certainly feels small as the Fellow steps around him to get to the front door, the being standing taller than the frame. Yes, Logan had known that the Night Fellow is a tall imposing figure when standing but he wasn't expecting the being to be a good bit over seven feet tall.

The Night Fellow looks back at him for a moment after they pull the door open but doesn't wait for Logan to scramble to his feet before they duck out the door and begin their night walk, leaving the mansion's door open. The teacher rushes for his flashlight and follows after them to find them already at the edge of the property and walking past the decrepit gate.

Logan had to run to catch up to them, finally getting close just a little ways past the tree line when the Night Fellow suddenly freezes and jerks their head to look at him. The sudden movement startling Logan enough that he stops himself several feet away from them.

Logan mostly expects the Fellow to drop on all fours once more and flee into the forest but instead the being just stands there and watches him. The teacher takes a breath, figuratively throwing caution to the wing for the hundredth time this night.

"May I walk with you?" The teacher makes a small gesture towards the path in front of them. "I have to return to town and it seems like you're heading that direction."

The Fellow doesn't respond to him but doesn't run from him either, they simply turn their head back forward and continue their walk, though Logan notes that they move slower than before which allows the teacher to catch up and walk beside them.

"So, you can understand me?" He asks only to be met with a side glance from the being. "Have you always lived in that mansion?"

The Fellow immediately looks tense and walks faster, the muffled sound of metal scraping together comes from them as Logan has to jog to catch up to them.

"Wait, I'm sorry!" Logan tries to amend. "I won't ask any questions, we can walk quietly."

The Night Fellow shoots him a look and narrows their eyes at him, which is the first time Logan's seen that their eyes haven't been completely wide open. He wants to ask if they need to blink, if their eyes are mechanical or flesh, how well can they see-

But he keeps his mouth shut and the Fellow slows their pace again for him which at least confirms that they do seem to understand him to some level.

Logan has so many questions ringing in his head as he watches them from the corner of his eye.

What are they? Did their mechanical parts need upkeep? What was the quiet ticking that followed them around? How much of them are flesh and how much are metal? What do they eat? Do they even need to eat? Why do they choose to live in that mansion? Why did they always go for these night walks? Is it easier for them to crawl rather than run?

Logan keeps these thoughts to himself. He instead listens to the sounds of the forest around them, animals tend to fall silent around supernatural creatures and this is no less true for the Fellow. All Logan can hear is the rubble shifting with each of their steps, the occasional strange mechanical noises that come from the being's movements, and the ticking noise that Logan theorizes much be some sort of clock they have under their robe.

The Night Fellow stays with him longer than Logan expects them too, he figured once he hit the main road that they would take off but they stay by his side(though seemingly following him more now that their off their normal path) until the first lights of town come into sight at which they stop.

Logan pauses when they do, turning to face them for a moment. "Thank you for walking with me." He offers a smile to which the Night Fellow nods, the first absolute sign that they understood him.

The teacher watches as they take a few steps away from him before dropping into a crouch, giving him one last look before they disappear past the trees and into the darkness.

There's no way Logan is letting this be his last encounter.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this came out of nowhere but I really like it so I won't complain
> 
> I think I kinda got accidentally got inspired by Edward Scissorhands but I've never actually seen Edward Scissorhands so I only used my vague understanding of the plot to make a friend with blade hands and then kinda went wild from there
> 
> Anyway, I'll probably make more oneshots of this when I have ideas but also if anyone reading has ideas I'd be down to hear them ;3c You can comment here or go yell at me on tumblr @doing-an-okay-job-miranda


End file.
